TORONTO – When Ed Harris was at the Toronto International Film Festival promoting “A History of Violence” three years ago, he gave co-star Viggo Mortensen a book. It was “Appaloosa,” a Western by crime writer Robert B. Parker that Harris had chosen as his second feature as a director, after the acclaimed biopic “Pollock.”
Even with the popular Mortensen on board, Harris said it was difficult lining up the bare-bones $20 million budget necessary for the project.
“It was a bit of a tough sell, because Westerns aren’t all that popular these days,” Harris said yesterday before the movie’s world premiere here today.
He finally secured the backing of producer Michael London (“Sideways”) and New Line Cinema, which distributed “A History of Violence.”
The old-fashioned oater was (beautifully) shot on a tight, 44-day schedule, mainly in New Mexico. Harris stars as a top gun hired by the town of Appaloosa to take on a crime boss played by Jeremy Irons (“who had never been in a Western”) with the help of his longtime pal, Mortensen.
Renée Zellweger – who did her own discreet nude bathing scene in a creek – turns up as a woman who becomes involved with all three men.
“What really tickled me about Parker was the way the two guys had of saying things,” Harris says. “Probably 85 percent of the dialogue is straight out of the book.”
“Appaloosa” wrapped on Dec. 6 – the same day New Line released the expensive flop “The Golden Compass,” touching off a behind-the-scenes corporate soap opera.
“We had no idea what was going on,” says Harris. “By the time we finished editing in the spring, we learned that New Line Cinema was no longer the distributor.”
Warner Bros., which absorbed New Line, is opening the flick in New York, LA and Toronto on Sept. 19 with plans to slowly roll out to 500 theaters on Oct. 3 – the same conservative strategy the studio employed with “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” last year.
“Jesse James” didn’t do much business even with Brad Pitt as the star, but Harris is optimistic about his far less pretentious flick.
“Our movie isn’t three hours [like “Jesse”] and a 2-hour-20-minute version I liked didn’t score very well in test screenings,” says Harris, who finally delivered a lean cut under two hours.
“We wanted it to be accessible,” he says. “I wanted it to be enjoyable and keep it moving and still take its time when necessary. I’m hoping to do a longer director’s cut for the DVD.”
Some viewers have remarked that a scene in which Harris’ character suspends the laws in Appaloosa and substitutes his own more restrictive ones seems to carry contemporary political resonance.
“It certainly wasn’t intended,” says Harris, who laughs when told he bears more than a slight resemblance to John McCain. “It’s really about friendship and loyalty and the difference between friendship and love.”
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